Apple iPhone 6 September launch means no employee time off

German retail division blocking leave requests

Apple has reportedly begun blocking employees from taking time off during September in preperation for unleashing the iPhone 6 upon the world.

German employees at Apple have been told that they will not be able to book time off during September, according to German tech site iFun.de.

Previous reports have suggested that the iPhone 6 will launch in September and this seems as good a reason as any for keeping the troops on site.

Apple traditionally blocks employees from booking time off when it has a major product launch planned. September and October is usually around the time Apple tees up a new iPhone handset.

We look to last year for proof. The company blocked employees from taking holidays – except for exceptional circumstances – between September 15th and September 28th in 2013. That leave ban coincided with the launch of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c.

Oddly enough, Apple hasn't commented on these claims.

The iPhone 6 is rumoured to be a major change for Apple. It is likely to be the first major change to the look of the handset since it introduced the iPhone 4 back in 2010.

It's also expected to be the first flagship handset that Apple lead designer Jonny Ive has had end-to-end control over. He was responsible for the look and feel of the iPhone 5c. And look how well that turned out.